Besides confirmed new Google TV features such as 'Fast Pair', Google is exploring a number of other use cases including fitness, smart home controls and video communications, according to Protocol.
Google TV in 2022
Google pulled out of CES due to covid concerns but the company provided Protocol with an update on Google TV features that it is currently working or exploring for 2022.
Google is exploring better integration of smart home controls. This would allow a user to control relevant home devices from the TV screen or set up automations. Rob Caruso, Google TV Director of Product Management, pointed to recent changes on Android mobile devices as an example.
- "Fitness is another big area of exploration," Rob Caruso told Protocol.
This could include both Google's own services such as Google Fit and Fitbit as well as third-party fitness services. Competitors like Apple, LG and Samsung already operate or have announced fitness services for TV devices.
Google TV
In addition, Google is planning to expand its offering of free live TV channels on Google TV. The company launched a new initiative in December with Pluto TV but it is currently limited to the US.
Also read: Google: Over 110 million monthly active Android TV & Google TV devices
Lastly, Google said that it is looking into ways to expand video communication on Google TV. This would obviously require a camera of some sort. In the early days of Smart TVs, some TV makers equipped their TVs with cameras but these were removed in later iterations due to privacy concerns. Sony, which one of Google's most important Google TV partners, is planning to launch a Google TV camera in 2022.
- "All of those areas are things that we're looking at, that we're exploring, and hopefully bringing out at some point later this year," Caruso said and added that some of them may even show up in the coming months.
- Source: Protocol
